The Transporter
by mmp89
Summary: Mek Tichur is a Transporter for those who don't wish to be found. However, on a routine transport to Coruscant, a young beaten Woman will lead him on an adventure which will save a planet. CHAPTER 8 UP, PLEASE R&R.
1. Foreword

**The Voyage of the Transporter**

Thank you for choosing to read my story. This is a quick foreword in a separate chapter as not to be placed in with the story. Star Wars has been one of the most expanded universes, if not the most, ever. Since George Lucas created it through film in 1977, dozens of Authors have created their own stories existing within it through novels, graphic novels, cartoons and even movies. I have read much of the material of this "EU" (Expanded Universe), as the fans tend to call it, and I have become immersed in the sheer depth of it.

Although there were novels released during the time of the movies themselves, it was really Timothy Zahns _Empire Trilogy, _sometimes called the Thrawn trilogy after its villain, which started it all.

While in the seventies and eighties you had such novels as Splinter in the Minds Eye (which was released before _Jedi_, and showed a sexual tension between Luke and Leia) and the original Han Solo series of books, they weren't very popular at the time.

Since that historic release in 1991, there has been many new pieces written on Star Wars ever expanding Galaxy, and I have enjoyed the ride all the way.

I have tried on many occasions to write a decent addition to the Universe, all of which have failed miserably. One of the problems with it is that nearly all of the stories have the main movie characters involved. This means that in order to cement your story involving them into the story, references have to be made and you cannot contradict them.

My story has nothing to do with Luke, Han, Leia or even future main characters such as Anakin, Corron Horn, Gavin Darklighter or the twins. It is a story about Mek, a troubled man with a cocky surface who works as a "Transporter" for people who do not want to be found with his friend Shakkara.

Certain influences from existing literature exist in my own. Shakkara is a Barabel from Barab One, both of which were created and expanded on in mainstream and published EU (Although the character of Shallamar from _The Hutt Gambit_ by A.C. Crispin is my main reference, as well as various information about the species and planet from other reference books).

Sure, the Grammar is not always 100, and the various references may not be entirely accurate, but this is a FanFiction, and more importantly, it is a story which I want to tell.

Much detail is places in the first few chapters as well as back story before the true story actually begins.

I Hope you enjoy the story, I have already written the Guts of the first 5 chapters, so expect it to be updated soon.


	2. One: Beginning of a Long Journey

**One: Beginning of a Long Journey**

_Freighter Havocs Nest, Near Makui, Outer Rim Territories_

"Get Ready", came a voice from the intercom speaker on the cold, durasteel wall,

and there was suddenly a vicious jolt which left a ricocheting noise ringing

throughout the hull.

The C-10b Corellian Corvette Havocs Nest had entered hyperspace. The ship

was over forty years old, and was basically a cold durasteel hull with sublight

and hyper drives stuck to it.

The voice was of Mek Tichur, and was weary and grainy under the pressure

of flying this hunk of bolts. Unlike modern freighters in which you could sleep

for the length of the flight, Mek was going to have to boil some Meruva Coffee

beans and be ready for the long haul. Under this hyperdrive, a mere Class 15

Corellian "Rectifier" GG-H12, the trip to Jilockhii took the guts of a week,

and the ship was so unstable that Mek was going to have stay in the cockpit in

case of an Emergency.

"Mek, you need to purchase a new space craft", said the creature beside

him in flawless but heavily accented Basic. His name was Shakkara Shenwan, and

was a Seven foot tall Barabel, straight from Barab One. Barab One was a harsh, murky

and dangerous planet and Barabels were much the same. Their skin is armoured and

their teeth are many and sharp.

It is not advised to have a Barabel as an enemy, but having one as a partner,

a friend, is definitely so. Shakkara had been one of the many Barabels "exported" from

Barab One when the Empire had come there and built the Alater-Ka spaceport.

As Barab orbits so close to its Red Dwarf Sun, Barabels have evolved sight,

attuned to Infa-Red wavelengths which make them exceptional hunters. A Wide Berth is

given to them in Cantinas around the Galaxy.

Mek is one of those who uses this space to pass through without trouble.

Although Shakkara is his best friend, he does know of the benefits of his presence.

Mek is what is known on his home world of Ord Mantell as a "transporter". Its a

combination of a smuggler and a passenger ship pilot. Need to get somewhere and

Don't want to be found? Mek's your man. He had gotten his own good little business

going, a real success story in the criminal world. He made his way up from a pickpocket

living in an alley near the Lady Fate casino to being an assistant on a transport

Shuttle which had a route to Coruscant and back.

He was sick of being a thief, and wanted to be a little more respectable.

Not that he'd get a real job, have a flashy apartment on Coruscant and pay his

Taxes to the Empire. If he could, he'd spit on the face of the Emperor himself.

Mek had been born into a respectable family in the Business sector of Imperial

city itself.

From his bedroom window as a child, he could see the Jedi Temple itself.

However, Palpatine, who had become Supreme Chancellor and entire 14 years before

his birth, had come to power and the Temple was soon destroyed, the new site

from their apartment being the Imperial palace.

His family had been workers in the Milbrelzi Corporation, which ran

a number of primary industries both on Coruscant and the Durasteel-rich

world of Xe'Qwecoo. At the start of the Clone Wars, Milbrelzi refused to

provide Durasteel hulls for the new "Star Destroyer" craft for which

plans had been made. Their reason was that so much firepower should not belong

to any one craft, and a military should not be made of the republic.

Old Palpy was still under his "Honest and Great Leader" guise. Once

the clone wars was over and the Empire began, Palpatine declared that the

Milbrelzi Corp and all its employees were traitors.

The Penalty for that, it seemed, was a Grade II Hydrogen Detonator

on the fourth floor of the Milbrelzi Corps towering Seventeen Thousand feet

high office and factory in the heart of Imperial city.

At least, although it is little to quench the anger of Imperial Cities

citizens, had a Iola SolidShield put in place around the building before the

Detonation. The building simply imploded in a mushroom shaped cloud, and each

storey fell on top of the one below, until all that remained was a pile of

rubble reaching six thousand feet itself.

Meks parents were on level three hundred and nineteen, one of the many

Sales and Contractors levels which ran the.. sales and contractors side of the

business.

They died instantly. Although it was almost fourteen minutes before

the building completely collapsed, the entire inside of the shield was filled

with Gamma rays which killed those they touched instantly.

Mek had been at home with a babysitter. He was only one year old, and

did not discover the truth until he was seven, forcing the information out

of his nanny, whom his adopted parents had kept. His "parents" were abusive and

he, after hearing of his real parents, could not bear to stay on the same planet

as palpatine. A man responsible for over a million deaths in the space of fourteen

minutes,

Mek had stowed aboard a smugglers ship by the name of "Jewel of Mantell".

He was quickly discovered by its pilot Jreneth MacArp, but the old smuggler took

a liking to Mek, and brought him to Ord Mantell, where Mek worked with him

until his passageway to Ord Mantell had been payed off. Mek stayed with Jreneth

for three years, however Jreneth passed away in his sleep when Mek was ten.

For the third time in his life, Mek had been left without parents.

"We Sure will, old buddy", Mek finally replied.

But Mek had had a good ship. A Great ship. The MacArps Pride, he had christened

her, after Jreneth.

She had been destroyed only a week ago in a raid in the hangar in which

she was kept. A group of Ship Thieves who leapt from world to world slowly

expanding their own fleet by stealing other peoples ships. According to the black

box which Mek and Shakkara had uncovered from the smouldering wreckage in the hangar,

the gang had inadvertently triggered a self destruct sequence. The log showed that

four of them were onboard, all of them died.

_Good ol' Maccy_, Mek had thought, she'd never go without a fight.

Still, Mek and Shakkara hadn't two credits between them, so rented The Havocs Nest

for them.

Although, to be honest, it wasn't worth one credit, let alone two.

This job was worth several hundred, however, a very hot job indeed, and they would

be well on the way to a brand new ship. Mek had his eye on a Nubian craft which

was for sale back on Ord Mantell. Shakkara had pointed out the fact that it was

very recognisable and most probably stolen. It was brand new, or as good as anyway,

and was covered in a shiny mirror like surface. When asked about how it was acquired,

the dealer, a sullustan named Teeborz assured that it was legitimate and was sold

to the highest bidder when Queen Amidalas term was up.. the new queen required a new

Model.

Shakkara had his eye on a Mon Calamari freighter.. but Mek pointed out how its

smooth, aquatic hull is also immediately recognisable...

Suddenly, a scream came from the hold. Mek jumped in his seat. Shakkara, however,

let a long dramatic sigh. "I'll go and see what is wrong with her, you stay here" said

Mek, knowing too well that introducing a seven foot reptile to a woman already screaming

about something or other wasn't a good idea.

"Mek??", came a voice from the hold. _I'm coming, I'm coming_, thought Mek as he

keyed in the code to open to cockpit door.

The hold was small and bare. On the opposite end of the room was a pillow

and blanket which was horizontal to the end wall on the floor. Beside it was a dirty

bucket.

In the middle of the floor, sat with her legs crossed, dressed in tattered

brown rags, and clutching her right fist in pain was a young woman. Her hair was a mass of shoulder

length brown curls, yet somehow dirty and frizzy. Her face was a pretty one, yet showed a hundred

pains.

She looked up at Mek. "What's Wrong?", he asked in a comforting voice.

But now, the once fragile and frail young woman had a look of anger on her face. She spoke

deeply with a sore throat. "I'll tell you whats wrong! Your damn wall .. burned me!"

Mek could hardly stifle the laugh which was trying to leave his throat. But he succeeded.

"See these two lines?" he said, pointing at two white lines around a foot from either side-hull.

She nodded solemnly, her gaze firmly fixed at the man towering above her. "Try not to cross them",

He said. "That 'wall' is barely an inch thick, and at the other side is coldest space. We're

lightyears from the nearest source of heat.. add to that the cold of hyperspace, and you've got

A ice burn if you touch them walls. Here, let me see your hand".

He knelt beside the woman. She moved backwards quickly as he approached her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he said. He took a tube of cream from the pocket of his jacket and showed it

to her. "Mikal Tywanahues patented Ice-Burn relief cream. Guaranteed to relieve to effects

of sudden cold to limbs or your money back." he said as he unscrewed the lid of it. She let out

a nervous laugh.

He squeezed the tube onto his index finger of his right hand and took her injured

hand in his left. Her palm was bright red and was starting to bleed slightly. He carefully

spread the cream on her palm gently. She winced a little but was okay.

"I had to stock up on all this first aid stuff after my first flight in this hunk of bolts", said

Mek as he stood up and reached for the wall on which there was no space the other side, only

some ancient cockpit instruments and Shakkara, and took the first aid box which had been

hastily hung on the wall.

"The Dealer forgot to mention that the Havoc here had no internal walls at all.

And the heater will only work within these lines as a safety precaution!", he said as he took

a bandage and a bacta sachet from the box. "Here", he said as he knelt beside her again.

She put out her hand to him without hesitation this time. "This will sting a little. Damn

preservatives they put in these things", he said as he carefully opened the sachet. He

let some drip onto her hand to ease it before pouring the rest on. She winced and pulled

her hands away. "Told ya", he said, and began to unravel a roll of bandages, "Pure Bacta

doesn't last more than a few days.. but once they put all these preservatives in, it stings

like hell!",

The Woman paused for a moment and then finally spoke. "How do you know?", she said,

honestly curious. She had never had any sort of bacta treatment before and did not know how

it was made.

Mek had finally unravelled the bandage and begun to wrap it carefully around her

hand. As he was doing this, he answered her question. "I had a natural bacta treatment when

I was on Chandrilla, once." he said, "Make a fist". She clenched her fist with a look of

pain on her face. He sealed the bandage and let her hand go.

"Why were you on Chandrilla?", she asked. Mek stood up and looked at her.

"For someone so eager to pay extra for a "no-questions-asked" treatment, you sure are full

of them yourself.. What's your name, by the way?".

"..You.. You said you would ask no questions like this", she protested.

"I know, I know.. but surely knowing your name can't hurt? You're stuck on this tub with

me and Shakkara for the next week.. gonna be pretty boring without even knowing each others

names. The Confidentiality contract still stays.. I mean, if I was going to give your name

to a bounty hunter, wouldn't I just kill you myself?"

She gave him a sour look at that last remark. "Who is Shakkara?", she asked.

"Shakkara's my partner. Known him since I was fifteen, and has been my best friend

ever since. He is a Barabel, very dangerous to be in his bad books. I stay clear of him

in the mornings, he can be pretty grumpy, Although Morning for him is night time.. and

his day lasts 60 hours"

The woman looked confused by this sudden mass of information. She pondered for a

few moments and then looked at Mek once more. "I am Mara. Mara Preneté," she said.

"I am Mek... although you already knew that. I've gotta go check on Shakkara.

I'll come to see you in a while.. and I guess I'll make some food later."

Mek left the hold, sat down on his torn mizzuk-hide chair in the cockpit,

and leaned back.

"Don't mix Business with Pleasure, Mekkalla", said Shakkara. The wise Barabel

calmly staring at Mek. Mek put on a fake "shocked" look and protested.

"What are you talking about? I wasn't gonna!".

Shakkara coolly turned his attention back to the instrument panel. Mek, however,

was staring at his distorted reflection in the transparisteel view port.

_I'm 29.. what can she be? 23?,_ thought Mek as he started at his reflection.

His hair was short and blonde, with the front spiking up slightly above his forehead.

He had a short beard around his mouth. It was also blonde.

_I think she'd go for a guy like me.. right?,_ Mek thought to himself.

He let out a sigh. "Shak, wake me up in an hour, will you? Thanks, buddy".

As Mek fell asleep, his mouth open and his head hanging over the side of the headrest,

Shakkara watched him quietly. Shakkara was over twice his age, and often worried for him.

He had met a hot-headed teenager on Ord Mantell, and was his mentor ever since. Mek had

been a criminal. A Pickpocket. He frequented the casinos such as Lady Fate and Mandula's

Luck, taking handfuls of credits out of drunken punters pockets. He looked a lot older than

fifteen back then, but now as he was nearing thirty, Shakkara supposed he was still a

lot younger at heart than he had thought.


	3. Two: The Journey Continues

**Two: New Truths**

_Freighter Havocs Nest, Illegal Hyperspace Route 117b from Makui_

An Hour had passed, and Shakkara gently awoke Mek from his slumber. He sheilded his

eyes as he woke, for the endless starlines outside the viewport were bright.

_We have really got to get a new ship_, thought Mek. The Havocs Nest didn't even have

a hyperspace viewport dimming system. It did, as fat as Mek knew, however, contain

a layer of two of in the transparisteel viewports, which blocked

stardust radiation which can damage your health by looking at it.

"What's up?", asked Mek. The Barabel understood it was a common phrase

among humans, but answered as though taking it literal, it was fun tormenting Mek

with his "Alien" ways. "Up? A Non Protected Durasteel hull, the boundaries of

hyperspace and then an infinite amount of space, littered with stars, nebulae,

planets, systems and galaxies."

Mek simply said "Bah.." and got up from his seat. Shakkara watched him as

he left the room, and turned back to the instrument panel once he had left.

Unbeknownst to Mek, Shakkara wasn't simply looking at the ETA readings, current

velocity dials or Oxygen reserve gauge.. he was playing virtual Sabaac on the

readout screen.

Mek was in the hold. Mara, as he now knew her, was asleep at the far end of the room

wrapped under the old blanket. He smiled and looked at her. She rolled over in her sleep,

and Mek looked away. Almost directly in front of the door to the cockpit was a trapdoor

on the floor of the hold. A small rounded rectangular slot was the extremely hard to grasp

handle.

After almost an entire minute of struggle, he lifted it up. It slid nearly into the

rest of the floor, and exposed a rickety black ladder which led into the darkness. Mek

tried to get down it, but as with the door handle, it would seem that CEC had Selonians in

mind when constructing this ship.

So Mek simply jumped. He knew it was only around six foot down, and landed with

a metallic thud of his worn Mizzuk leather shoes hitting the smooth durasteel floor.

He fumbled in the darkness for a few minutes before finding the switch on the wall which

activated the lighting system. A Single gorgian filament bulb hung from a wire

which dimly lit the room in bronze.

The room was tiny, much smaller than the hold above it. The ship was fish shaped

with an Peninsul cockpit which hung away from the rest of the ship. It was thin at the top

for the weak laser and ion cannon duo which was up there, and at the bottom for the

galley.

The room was around a metre wide by four metres long. on the opposite end

there was an oven which run off the ships own sublight drive. There was also

a device which cooked food with Microwaves, and a hob which also used the sublight power.

Near the ladder was a steel cabinet with two drawers and a cupboard. Mek had

stocked it with food before they had come. Makui was a nice planet with a mostly

humanoid population, so he was able to find some food which wouldn't kill once

ingested.

He easily had enough for the week.. but as this old ship was unreliable,

he decided to ration a bit more carefully. He took three polythene dishes from the

cupboard, and left them on top of the oven.

He took out a cast-ironite frying pan, and filled with with Mesunray oil.

For Shakkara he cooked a Shenbit Steak. It was nearly impossible to find, but

Shakkara grunts at human food. He used to hunt the Shenbit Bonecrushers on Barab One,

and since he got it for free then, he has great trouble in parting with credits for

their meat.

The smell from the frying shenbit steaks was disgusting. A light grey

liquid begun to squirt out of the red and grey meat. This was normal, Mek

had cooked them before, but the sight still disgusted him.

For himself and Mara, he cooked some spicy Drenhown beans with Asshal vinaigrette

and Merenshen breast. It was a dish which was popular in the outer rim, so ingredients

were easy to come by.

He struggled to carry the containers up the old ladder, so did so one at a time.

Once all was in the hold, he took the foldable table which was leant against the wall

and set it up in the middle of the room.

Mara was already awake, and looked at the food with a look of extreme hunger.

Mek knocked on the cockpit door. Shakkara knew what he wanted. Mara had already begun

eating her food furiously when Shakkara emerged from the cockpit. She looked quite shock,

and gulped as he sat at the table.

"So Mara, where are you from?" asked Mek. Mara did not answer. Mek knew she

did not wish for Mek and Shakkara to know about her. "It's just that.. you don't seem

well learned in the galaxy, if you know what I mean?".

"Why?", said Mara, "Because I have never seen whatever species Sha. er..

Shakkar is?". Mek nodded solemnly. Shakkara looked at her in disgust, then picked up

one of his Shenbit steaks and took a large bite out of it, being sure to show Mara

his teeth. The light grey liquid slid slowly down his reptilian face.

The meal was uneventful and without much conversation. Mek was curious about

this Mara. Most of the people they transported were people who had done something wrong

and wished not to be found.

Escaped Prisoners from Gallant, fugitive criminals from Coruscant.. on their

way to Nar Shadda, Tatooine or other criminal havens. She was young, and Mek could

not think of what she could of done wrong.

Night.. or at least Central Time night (for the rotation of Coruscant was

twenty seven hours, and is generally the standard time for the Galaxy) fell, and Mek

found himself getting tired once more.

Barabels have a much longer day, so he was left alone to look after the sleep

while Mek slept once more.

Mek awoke, according to the chronometer, six hours later. Shakkara, wary too

of whether the viewport contained Peranazine or not, was being careful not to look

at the endless, hypnotising starlines for too long. He looked tired. Mek suddenly

realised that he had not slept at all in nearly three days. "Hey, Shak", he said,

looking at the Barabel, "I'll look after this bucket for a while, you catch some sleep".

And so Shakkara did. He was leant back on his chair, his vast chest slowly

raising and falling in the irregular Barabel breathing pattern. Soon the snores began,

and Mek found himself getting more and more irritating.

A Sudden knock on the cockpit door startled him. He left his chair to open the

door. Mara was stood there. "Hey", she said, "I couldn't sleep"

Mek nodded towards Shakkara. "No, no", said Mara, "It's not that. I actually feel bad

at the way I treated him earlier".

"It's okay", said Mek, "Barabels are actually a pretty new addition to the

they're an ancient species, but have only recently left their world, when the Empire

built a space sport on Barab One. The only other people they knew before then were

a group of Jedi who visited their planet many years ago. Shakkara speaks highly of

the Jedi, and badly of he who killed them",

"Jedi..", echoed Mara.

"What was that?", asked Mek. She shook her head. "Nothing". Mara sat beside

Mek on the empty seat there. They spoke for a long time, although the conversation

was one-sided.

After answering her questions for at least an hour, Mek stopped.

"Why do you want to know all this anyway?", he asked. "I am curious", she replied.

"Like you said, I do not have much experience. This is only the second time I have been

in space."

"You lived on Makui?", he asked. "No", she said, and that was all. She did not

elaborate, although Mek was itching to ask. He remained quiet. "How come outside of this

ship there is blue?", she asked.

"It is hyperspace", said Mek, "The Galaxy vast, and it would take years to reach

your destination with Sublight drives. Hyperspace is a safe route for which to travel

at lightspeed. The Blue lines and waves are stars and systems going past".

While Mara listened intently to Meks teachings on the ways and workings of space, she didn't seem like she knew what the hell he was talking about. Mek thought it was peculiar for someone to not know the basics. He grew more and more interested in her, and wanted to know her story.

The rest of the day passed without much incidence. Mara retreated to the hold after the discussion had finished, and Mek was left alone. Shakkara was still asleep and there wasn't much to do in Hyperspace. But he did not wish to leave the ship alone.

In theory, it should run okay with nobody in the cockpit, but the dealer mentioned that it could slide now and again. Sliding in hyperspace is not a good thing. It means that while the ships predetermined course would remain the same, the ship itself could move about inside the boundaries of it. This could be dangerous, as with all of Hyperspace.

Sure enough, Mek had to change the nose position at least four times before Shakkara woke up. His large opened slowly, and he blinked a few times, staring at the ceiling.

"Hey, sleepyhead", said Mek, grinning at the Barabel. Shakkara did not respond. He rarely did to such remarks. He was a strange creature. Unlike most Barabels, he wasn't easily tempered or quick to slash anyone who looked at him sideways.

Mek had often asked what happened when the Empire came to Barab One.

Shakkara answered best he could, but never told more than he needed to. From his stories of Barab, Mek knew he did not one to visit there. It was cold, damp, dark and dangerous, much the same as Barabels themselves.

According to Shakkara, Barabel was once a lush green planet. Although nobody actually knew this for sure, the ancient teachings of tribe members said so, and who was Mek to disagree.

Most Barabels were lone hunters, living in caves with their families, but there were a few tribes on the planet who had teachings and ways that the others did not know of.

The tribes told of a day when the sun was large and yellow and the world was green and blue. It was a peaceful and great time. Civilisation had sparked, and there were many primitive cities on the planet. But then the sun shrank into a red dwarf. Not long after, a meteor hit the surface and an Ice Age began. This was thousands and thousands of years ago, and the only remnants of that world were discovered documents on Mount Herallak.

When the Ice Age finished, the surface of Barab One had changed for ever. The days where dark and dangerous, but nobody ventured out in day. Because of Barab Ones close proximity to the Star, the radiation levels in day time was extremely dangerous.

All native creatures stayed inside in daytime. Because of this, they nearly all evolved. Barabels gained armour to cope with the new dangers after the ice age, for now it was a bare, desolate and rocky planet.

Their eyes became attuned to darkness, and worked on infrared wavelengths, and they hunted in the first few hours of shadow, when the temperature dropped. When the Empire came and chartered the planet, many hunters came to kill the Barabel Warriors and claim their heads as prizes.

However, one of the largest tribes on the planet, led by chieftain Shaka-ka, retaliated and the Empire learned of their strength as warriors. Many were exported. Shakkara was one of them.

After his exportation, Mek wasn't entirely sure what happened to Shakkara. He told of wearing black plastic armour and along with many others of his species, going to battle with hundreds of men dressed in white. They went to a planet of little land and killed many native peoples.

Shakkara did not know the name of the planet once asked, but told Mek that he killed very few, and only as a retaliation. He did not wish to kill them, they had done nothing to him.

He escaped not long after, and came to Ord Mantell. Mek had known him ever since. He liked the big ol' guy. He was handy and helpful, as well as being a good friend.

Finally, Shakkara spoke. "What is the ETA?" he asked. Mek checked the Navi computer and found the answer. "Five Days, Twelve Hours and Thirty Two minutes exactly".

Mek was grateful of this newly discovered route. Travel from the outer rim to the core worlds usually took much longer, especially in a ship this slow. It was said to be unstable and passed very close to the Obroa-Skai Star. The usual route from Makui was the Perlemian Trade Route, which passed by worlds such as Railtiir, Chandrilla and Corulag.

But that took much longer, and the Empire had increased taxes on trade routes to the point that paying would mean a deficit. Avoiding paying cannot happen anymore, anyway.

The Word on the street was that the Imperial Fleet now had several new star destroyers which could actually bring ships out of Hyperspace. A sort of trade-route checkpoint.

Also, another hyperspace trip was needed to get to the trade route itself. It passed between the Crion Drift and the Tion Cluster. Makui was a remote planet whose nearest known habitable neighbour was Mon Calamari.

Mek asked around in the local cantinas and taverns on Makuis principal city of Cionne Gelaq for local illegal routes to get to Coruscant quicker. This was the best option as the only others went through Hutt Space and needed a coordinate change from inside its borders.

Shakkara grunted. He hated spending long periods in Space. He had only been off his home planet for the first time when he was nearly fifty years old. That isn't old to a Barabel, but Mek couldn't believe it himself.

"Take over for a while, will ya?", asked Mek. Shakkara nodded in approval and Mek leant back in his chair, ready to catch some sleep. There was, after all, little else to do.


	4. Three: Restricted Space

**Three: Restricted Space**

_Freighter Havoc Nest, Unknown Region, somewhere in between Makui and the Core Worlds_

Shakkara quickly and roughly awoke Mek from his short lived slumber. Mek jumped as he awoke

to the Barabels frightening face, teeth showing under his top lip. "What?", asked Mek

angrily, raising his hands to the air. Shakkara backed away slowly, and stared for a moment

out of the viewport.

Mek did the same, and saw that they were no longer in hyperspace, but in a desolate

region of real space. "What the-? Did you take us out of hyperspace? You know how dangerous

that is?", asked Mek quickly keying at the instrument panel.

"No", quietly replied Shakkara, "I was nearly asleep myself, I am surprised the jolt

of re-entry did not awake you". Mek stopped keying into the panel and turned his attention to

Shakkara.

"Do you know what happened?", he asked frustratedly. Shakkara slowly nodded.

"We entered realspace. The Navicomputer does not know the reason why, but a few seconds later

and we would have been too close to the Joala Nebula for comfort. I don't trust this ship

in such levels of radiation", said Shakkara.

"Did you try and clear a new course?", asked Mek.

"No", said Shakkara, "The Hyperdrive is shot. I was going to check it myself, but the Navi

tells me all we need to know. The rear Goa Piston is completely destroyed. It is a waste

of time trying to repair it".

"Great", said Mek, "Stuck in the middle of nowhere in this rust bucket".

"I suggest a scan of the surrounding space", said Shakkara, "Although if there was any

life-supporting planet around here, we would be able to see it near the nebula over there".

The Barabel pointed to the beautiful clouds of red and blue gas which hung just

inside visible light. "The Joala system did have planets, the Navi says it had three

oxygen rich planets and two outer system ice balls."

"You sure did check a lot while I was asleep, didn't ya? So why then, didn't you

do the scan on your own?", asked Mek, slightly angry at not being awoken to help sooner.

"The Level Two functions; scanning, broadcasting and the activation of the proton launchers

require a code entry", said Shakkara cooly.

"This hunk has proton torpedoes? Too bad they couldn't of made an inner wall. Geez",

said Mek, "So.. where is the code?"

"That, my friend, is why I awoke you. Mr. Hera gave you all relevant papers and devices

for operating the ship. Once we boarded it for the first time, you put them somewhere. I do not

know where", said Shakkara.

"Well I have no idea", said Mek, "You'd better help me find them".

Shakkara protested, but had to join the search party for the greater good. It took almost ten

minutes to find them, and Shakkara secretly suspected that Mek had put them away after a

couple of Alderaanian Ales.

The code, a rather simple default 12345, was imputted, and the scan commenced. Mek wasn't worried at first, but after a while, as the scan showed nothing for the immediate square parsec, worst case scenarios started to creep up on him.

If the scan showed nothing, they'd be stranded in the middle of empty space with no way of getting out except sublight speeds. Chances of getting to any inhabitable planet on sublight drives with the food and water they had was slim. No ship would be able to do it, but a decent ship would have a better chance. The maximum sublight speed of the Havoc was 40 MGLT, and even going at 30, it rattled dangerously.

"Hey, Shakarra", began Mek, "What did the Navi say about the Joala system?, completely?"

"I told you. There were five planets, and three of them had oxygen rich atmospheres, but the Joala Sun exploded. The closest two planets were completely destroyed and there is an asteroid belt there now. The third oxygen rich planet is still there, but it never had life in the time of the republic, and no longer has an atmosphere. The other two, they haven't changed at all, they were always uninhabitable and covered in ice", he said.

Mek sighed. All seemed lost, unless the scan showed anything within its seven parsec radius. Sure, the Havoc could travel aimlessly, scanning ever seven parsecs, but it would be unlikely.

Suddenly, the dash screen flashed and made a bleeping noise. Mek and Shakkara quickly fumbled towards it. On the screen was a map of this sector in the Mid Rim.

In the greater image, the Joala system was highlighted. Its nearest systems where Kashyyk and Tholatin. The Havocs general position was indicated as in between Tholatin and Joala. The magnified image showed the chartered areas of the surrounding space, as well as the results of the actual scan.

The five Joalan planets were shown; Grainne, Missure, Iolapip, Joala and Soldreni. The scan showed that just under three parsecs to the west of the craft, there was an unregistered space station. It showed in between twenty and thirty thousand lifeforms (the computer had to compensate for cold and hot blooded species as well has various sizes), and was broadcasting a call sign, but it was heavily encoded.

"Looks good, what do you think?", Mek asked the Barabel. He nodded slowly.

"It would seem at this time to be our only choice", he said, "But I suggest we be wary and spend out time preparing. I shall take control of the ship why you gather supplies and weapons".

Mek agreed this was the best course of action, and left Shakkara to travel to the space station. After five minutes, the station came into view, and Shakkara took the controls. Shakkara prepared to use a control stick when piloting space craft, as he could achieve greater control.

He had received basic training in case of emergencies in the Imperial Military, but expanded his skills in his time on Ord Mantell. He did not speak of the time there to Mek.

Mek meanwhile, was in the hold, explaining the situation to Mara.

"Hey", he said, patting her on the back. She awoke with a start and immediately stood up and backed away quickly. "Hey, it's just me", he told Mara who was shielding her face.

"What's wrong?", he asked. She lowered her hands slowly. "I'm sorry", she said, "I got disorientated, I thought you were going to hurt me". Mek used this answer as an attempt to discover more about her, but it was futile. "Listen", he said, "I'd never hurt you. I am here to bring you to Coruscant and protect you on the way".

"I know", she said, "I am sorry, I was just disorientated, I thought I was back..". She had trailed off, much to Meks dismay.

"Mara", he said, "I've got something to tell you. The hyperdrive has broken down and we are stuck here. We've discovered a space station around an hour away and we're going to go there to see if we can get cleaned up and get some repairs".

"What? No!", she said, suddenly frightened, "We can't, I must get to Coruscant, we cannot leave the ship until we get there!"

"I'm sorry, but we can't. The Hyperdrive is bust and we need to get repairs. Otherwise we'll be stuck here for ever. Which would you rather? Rot here for the rest of your life, or go to the station so we can get back on course to Coruscant?"

It took a lot of persuading, although Mek was never going to stay here, regardless of his passengers wishes. Mara finally agreed as she had a few spare credits and may be able to purchase some clothes and clean herself up. Mek went down into the Galley area which was also being used for storage rather than the hold. He found his trusty Blastech E1-Z. It was a newer model pistol which had a power dial for the kill setting, increasing the intensity of the blast which could leave larger impacts and sometimes completely destroy a limb. Shakkara did not like blasters. As a warrior he tended to use his claws, and can only ever recall using a spear once, on a particularly large and nasty Shenbit beast.

But he agreed to carry a weapon, even if he did not plan to use it, over five years ago after a situation on Coruscant. He and Shakkara had been on the planet for a week waiting to get a job. It was a bad period for business, and this time they were on Coruscant, they couldn't even afford to rent an apartment. He and Shakkara had slept in the _MacArp_ and then frequented the local taverns in the daytime.

Shakkara had accidently bumped into a human who was leaving _The Aludians Tavern_ as he and Mek were entering. The human took offence to this and despite the fact he was shouting at a Barabel, he showed a lot of confidence. After enduring the comments of the small, annoying man for a few minutes, Shakkara soon turned to his warriot ways and picked the man up by his neck so that his feet were dangling a clean foot of the ground.

The root of the mans confidence was then revealed. Having an entourage of four Shelonians can do that for you. Shelonians were a large, strong race from the Shel system in Wild Space. They weren't very common in the Galaxy, but if you met one, you sure weren't going to forget it.

Their skin was thick, but unlike a Barabels, easily penetrable by blasters. They did not even have that sharp teeth, but they were still formidable for one reason; their arms. Their arms were thick and muscular, but were the hands would be on a human, they had two spikes, bent outwards. If you got hit by the front, you were going to have bones broken, but if you got slashed by the ends of the spikes, you were a goner. For apart from their sharpness, the spikes contained a rare toxin which caused paralysis within the hour, as well as a number of rare diseases only found on the edges of the galaxy.

But because of the bend back angle, you were more likely to get bones broken.

No questions asked, the four Shelonains crowded around Shakkara, a look of anger on their faces. Although Shakkara towered above them, they were still going to be formidable opponents.

Shakkara let go of the man, who fell to the floor, but he had a look of glee on his face. He knew what was going to happen. The two barabels nearest to Shakkara threw the first punches, both of them thrusting at the same time, but their claws had little effect on Shakkaras armoured skin. Shakkara bit down into the first Shelonians neck.

A putrid green blood dripped down the Shelonians unclothed back. He fell limp to the floor. The tavern was now in chaos, with most punters trying desperately to get away from the battle. Mek wanted to join them, but instead attempted to join the battle.

He got hit by the unoccupied Shelonian and the back of the pack squarely in the chest. He was winded, and two of his ribs had been broken. While Shakkara was beating the second and third Shelonians simultaneously, the third remaining one had jumped on top of them all. The battle collapsed on top of a Japor Wood table which easily broke under the immense weight.

Mek, who was clutching his chest with one hand fumbled to retrieve his blaster from his holster with the other. This was before he had gotten the E1-Z, he then had a Jirosc Blast Propelling Pistol (BPP), one of the most common guns in the galaxy, utilised by all non-combat officers of the Imperial Military.

He turned the dial to maximum and fired at the back of the closest shelonian.

The result was quite disgusting. A hole around four inches in diametre was left on the now dead Shelonians back. It went to the other side, where the exit wound was much larger.

He rolled over dead, and Shakkara emerged, having killed the other two remaining Shelonians with less ease than he had thought. There was a large scrape down his right leg, his woven ke-had trousers in tatters. His armour was not pierced fully, the spike had only scratched the surface, but Shakkara was left with a shameful scar.

He was angry that Mek had joined the battle with a Blaster (he would not have cared if he had joined in with fists, regardless of the damage done). Mek had protested he had to join in because Shakkara was unprotected. Although insulted by this, he agreed to carry a blaster, just in case. Even the mighty Shakkara was not going to be able to win a battle in which blasters played a role, regardless of his armour, unless he could fire back.

So Shakkara had chosen a rifle. A rather flashy and expensive Blastech LDSB 17. It was capable of hitting targets over a mile away, and was only purchased after their first job from Coruscant, which led them to Molo 5, a rather expensive planet indeed.

Needless to say they were in need of work pretty soon after the purchase. Shakkaras _Long Distance Sniping Blaster_ was leant against the cabinet in which Mek had kept the food. His E1-Z was always in his holster, but his secondary S6 which fit into a small holster near his foot, was in a drawer on the cabinet itself. He took it out and placed it in its holster. He also stocked a few extra powerpacks into his backpack. They didn't have any idea what to expect in the station, so it was better to be prepared.

He took the few credits and coins and put them in his pockets. He also took a Digital Radius and Assistant which may come in handy. It could tell you who was behind corners as well as store your diary dates. Handy in an indoor battle, especially one with lots of corridors.

He took the whole lot back up the ladder. He left the rifle and bag in the hold. Mara wasn't there. Taken back by this, he opened the door to the Cockpit. Mara was sat in his seat talking to Shakkara. "Hey", he said. Mara literally jumped in her seat at his appearance.

Mek sat down in the remaining seat. The Space Station now took up a quarter of the viewport. "Wow!" exclaimed Mara. Again, Mek suspected she had never seen such a thing before.

Suddenly, a blast from a turbolaser was shot and disintegrated on the shield, severely taxing it and causing the whole ship to jerk forward. Mara screamed and quickly retreated to the hold. Mek glanced at her as she ran out of the room.

"Should I go to the Laser Turret?" asked Shakkara. Mek shook his head. "No", he said, "It was probably just a warning shot".

His idea was confirmed as a voice suddenly sounded from the communications panel.

"CEC C-10b _Havocs Nest_ Serial Number OM-1191-7871, please confirm", came the voice. It was accented and unknown to Mek. He leant over to the panel. "Yeah, that's us", he said.

"This is restricted space, do you have clearance to be here?" asked the voice.

Mek leant over once more. "No we don't, this is an emergency stop", he replied.

There was a long pause. "Please state reason for wanting access to the station".

Mek thought about how to phrase it. "We've got a damage hyperdrive and are stranded out here. We need repairs, got plenty of credits".

But they didn't have plenty of credits. Probably enough for the repairs, but it would be close.

"You have temporary clearance to Hangar bay A-12. You must wait in your ship until confirmation of access. Co-ordinates A112, 212", said the voice.

"Thanks", replied Mek, turned off the panel.

He slid the control unit over from Shakkaras side of the cockpit to his own, and pressed a button to retract the stick and get dual throttle and aft controls.

He then began to manoeuvre the craft towards the station.

When the station took the whole viewport up did its sheer size become apparent. The only thing Mek had ever seen even comparable to it was _Centerpoint Station_ in between Talus and Tralus in the Corellian system, and that was over three hundred kilometres long. It was coiled like a spring, and had at least ten rungs in the coil.

At the top was a large sphere on the end of a coil. That was obvious the control complex for the station. It was so oddly shaped and immense that Mek hadn't the slightest clue where A-12 was. He keyed in the coordinates into the Navicomputer, and mapped it onto the broadcasted schematics of the station. It projected it onto the HUD which took up the bottom half of the viewport. Mek then keyed in the relative co-ordinates. A dark red line appeared over the schematic showing the top of the hangar which was situated on the very top coil, quite close to the control complex.

Mek suspected that 12 and 1 were right beside the control complex, the rest going around the circumference like the numbers on an old fashioned chronometer. He imagined it would be the same for lower levels except with different letters.

As the _Havoc_ got closer and closer to the station, the Hangar became easily visible. It was large and rectangular, shrouded in white light.

The _Havoc_ was now directly outside the hangar, and was hovering patiently.

The shields were still up, and they could not enter until they were lifted. Near the front of the hangar, there was a small, roofless tower with a casually dressed Ithorian on top. He saw the _Havoc_ and began looking for a clearance code on his computer screen.

He nodded at the craft and the pale sheen which was covering the Hangar vanished. Mek carefully flew inside the hangar and the shield was put back down.

From the outside he could not of appreciated the size of the hangar as the control tower and entryway was like a vestibule for the hangar itself. It was gigantic. Right across the semi-circular hangar there were hundreds of ships. Mek recognised a few new; Incom Y-Wings, some instantly recognisable A series Corvettes, he even saw what looked like a modified stolen TIE craft. There were also much larger craft which neither Mek or Shakkara recognised.

Mek found a place in which to land the craft; in between a Seralais MechWar class patrol ship and a large wedge shaped ship which towered over both the MechWar class and the _Havoc_ itself.

Now they had landed, Mek tried to get a proper view of the hangar, but he could only see directly in front of him thanks to the forward only viewport.

"What do you say, Shak? Wanna go look around?", he asked the Barabel.

"No, they told us to wait here until further notice", he replied.

"And what are they gonna do? Send some Ithorians dressed in Bathrobes?", he asked.

Shakkara said nothing. "Bah!", moaned the human, "Fine, you stay here, but I am getting out of here".

Mek got up from his chair and entered the hold. Mara was sat holding her two knees in her hands rocking back and forth. Mek quickly went to comfort her.

"What's wrong?", he asked her calmly. She looked terrified. "What was that?", she whispered.

"What?", asked Mek, confusedly.

"All I could see was red light, and then there was a noise, and the ship moved about", she said. Mek suddenly realised she was talking about the blast which had hit the _Havoc_ earlier. He then remembered how she had left the room in panic.

"It was a laser blast", he said, "Surely you know what they are."

She shook her head. "I've seen them before. But they were smaller. The men used them on me".

She pulled back the top of her robe slightly, to reveal a laser scar just below her neck. She now had tears in her eyes. "I hate them", she said. Mek suddenly felt a great sadness for this young woman. She now had her head in her hands. He pulled her towards him and she leant her head on his shoulder.

"It's okay", he comforted her.

"C'mon", he said, and stood up, almost lifting her with him. "We're going to go outside."

She was shocked by this. "But we're in space!" she said through her tears.

Mek laughed. "No", he said, "We're inside the station". Shakkara emerged from the cockpit. He looked at them both coolly. "Are we going", he asked. He lifted the LDSB and the backpack from against the wall and slung both of them across his vast back.

Luckily, Mek didn't think Mara knew that the long, odd looking device, the LDSB was a blaster. He hoped he wouldn't have to reveal his own, distinctly blaster looking E1-Z during the stay here.

The exit of the _Havoc_ was on the left side of the shuttle from the back. He crossed the guideline which was a foot from the wall and keyed in the unlock code into the panel beside the engraved door. A loud click indicated the unlocking of the door came from the hull and Mek then pressed the larger red button under the key pad.

The Door opened, quickly retreating into a space in between the hold and the gun turret on top of the craft. Another sliding mechanism activated and a series of steps formed that reached the dark, almost marble like, floor of the hangar.

Mara, who had since wiped the tears from her face, was shocked by the hangar. Much more so than Mek had been.

But before they could enjoy the sights and sounds of the busy hangar, two security guards came around the side of the ship on a hovering train like craft, almost like a skiff. They were both human, but it seemed neither spoke much Basic. The Skiff had stopped beside them, one of the guards had stepped off and pointed to the little step leading up to the top of the craft.

He grunted. Shakkara was being difficult. He did not like the look or smell of the man. "What is it you wish for us to do?" he asked.

The man pointed at the steps once more. He was dressed in a bright red tunic with white trousers. Hanging from his belt was a holster and blaster. "Go .. up", he grunted.

Mek didn't want a scene and nudged Shakkara slightly who reluctantly walked up the steps with Mek. Mara ran up behind them quickly. "Ouch", she said.

"What's wrong?" asked Mek. "Nothing, I just hurt my foot", she answered. Mek suddenly realised that she had no shoes.

He shook his head. "It's okay", he said, "Once I've cleared this up, we'll get you some new clothes. They sat on the two benches on the sides of the craft. The other guard started to drive it once more while the one who had gestured them to come up stood over them looking at each of them with great care and detail.

Mara was looking over her shoulder at the sheer vastness of the place. Mek was trying to figure out where they were going. Shakkara was staring at the guard. He snarled, being sure to bare his teeth.

The Man grunted once more.

Mek gave Shakkara a sour look. The craft travelled the the back wall of the room where it then turned right towards the opposite wall. They reached the opposite end and a door opened, easily large enough to allow them in. They had entered what seemed to be a shaft which had two doors on the left and right, and a peculiar device on the opposite end which the craft flew straight into.

"What the?" said Mek aloud. The device attached to the front of the craft and locked into place. Suddenly and without warning the entire thing went upwards at incredible speed. Mek, Mara and Shakkara all looked upwards and saw that it was some kind of elevator shaft which went up the top of the station. It seemed to go on forever, and when Mek realised that this was probably only the height of the control complex itself, the size of the station amazed him once more.

Suddenly, the top of the shaft came into view, and despite the fact it was definitely safe, Mek couldn't help but close his eyes as it came so close. But the craft stopped, at what would seem to be the very top floor of the spherical control complex at the end of the topmost coil in what is an absolutely massive station. Mek noticed that the front of the craft was constructed like a pathway, and they all stepped onto it after the guards. Another door slid open and a long corridor appeared before them.

The Guards began walking to the other end of it. They passed many doors which where on either side of the bright white hall and got to the end which became a grand room with one large door in the centre with many smaller walls beside it. Two stairways were situated at either side of the room.

An unusually short three eyed Gran, who where from the worlds of Malastare and Kinyen scurried quickly out of a door beside the large doors in the centre of the room. "Greetings", he said in a high, friendly voice. "Hello", said Mek firmly. "Thank you for granting us access to this station, it is quite unbelievable".

The Gran let out a muffled, nervous laugh of sorts. "No, no, no", he said, "I did not grant you access, that was Master Maelon. He wishes to talk to you, to see whether you can stay here or not".

"Does the leader of this place personally check every one who wishes to visit because there is a hella lot of ships in that hangar", said Mek.

"Yes, but all 264 hangars are filled with ships who had clearance to be here, never has someone stumbled upon out facility without a clearance or knowing where they are!" said the Gran.

"Oookkay.. so are we gonna see this guy or not?", asked Mek.

"Please, what are your names?" asked the Gran. Mek wondered whether or not to give his real name, but he figured to give his real name as there was little it would reveal to anyone.

"I am Mek Tichur, this is Shakkara and this is ..", he trailed off. He decided not to give Maras real name. Mara suddenly spoke up, showing unusual confidence from what Mek knew of her. ".. Wenda Sicil", she said.

"Thank you", the Gran said politely, "I am Ree-Calars. I shall inform Master Maelon of your arrival".

He scurried off back through the door. "Wenda Sicil, eh?" said Mek smiling at Mara. She smiled. In the brightness of the room and with her for once actually smiling, Mek appreciated how beautiful she was. In the darkness of the hold with her cut and dirty face, he had been attracted to her, but now he thought she looked stunning.

Ree-Calars came through the door again and turned to Mek. "He wishes to speak with you.. you are the pilot of the craft _Havocs Nest_, correct?", he said.

"Yeah, I'm the pilot", said Mek.

"Come, Come", said the Gran, and he opened the large doors in the centre of the room. Ree-Calars walked quickly down the short corridor behind the door and opened another door at the end of it. "Go in. Be careful, he is Notorious", said Ree.

"Err.. okay", said Mek, and he stepped inside.

The room was surprisingly small. In the centre there was a rounded aluminium desk and behind it was a high backed chair which was turned around so Mek couldn't see the person sitting in it. It slowly turned around.


	5. Four: The Notorious Jaki Shurga Maelon

**Four: The "Notorious" Jaki Shurga Maelon**

_Unknown Space Station, Near The Joala System, The Mid Rim _

"Greetings", said the bulbous headed blue skinned Alien sat on a high backed chair behind the sleek aluminium desk. The desk was covered in important looking files and papers, but Mek did not pay attention to these, but to the easily recognisable Blastech QR9 laid on its side in the middle of them.

Mek was nervous, but was careful not to show it. The Alien, who, from a prism shaped sign which was on the front of the desk, Mek gathered as being Jaki Shurga Maelon, showed no expression on his strange face. Maybe it was a look of anger.. or happiness, Mek could not be sure.

He had never seen this species before, and was confused of what to make of the situation. The security guards had been rough and basically threw him into the seat opposite the creature,but Jaki himself kindly greeted Mek. Mek waited patiently as Jaki quietly stared at him. He was taken back a little when the creatures eyes rotated fully into the back of his head. Mek gave a little cough, as if to wake Jaki up.

"So, why did you come to Ha'ak'er Station?", asked the creature suddenly.

Mek paused for a moment, taken back by the sudden question. "Our ship broke down, rather conveniently around three parsecs from this here haker.. haaker..", Mek struggled to pronounce the name of the station as Jaki had done so.

"Ha'ak'er", said Jaki, "Do not worry, I have never heard any member of your species pronounce it correctly. It is nearly impossible with the human tongue in the way. Humans who visit here refer to it as the 'Joala Snake', most probably from the relative close proximity to the Joala System, and the Snake-like design of my station".

"Thank you for the information.. Jaki?", said Mek. The Alien nodded.

"Again, a mispronunciation of sorts, but close enough", replied Jaki.

Mek honestly didn't know what to do next. He did not know whether to feel welcome of be wary of a situation which may occur. Jaki was sitting perfectly still. His large round eyes rotated into his head once more, and his entire body shook for a few seconds.

"So, I guess we are okay here, right? We can get our ship fixed?" asked Mek.

Jaki trembled once more. "Yes, Yes, but once your ship has been fixed, you must see me once more before you leave. For now, you have to sign this paper.." said Jaki, carefully sliding a yellow coloured sheet towards Jaki. "You must never reveal the location of this station, to anyone. Since the Empire was formed, we must be wary".

Mek picked up the sheet of paper, and read it carefully;

Confidentiality Contract Of Ha'ak'er City Station

Ha'ak'er Station, home of the homeless members of the Joalan system, will accept your stay under the following agreements.

You register as a citizen, meaning you can return at any time and expect to be welcomed, but also must have full details registered under the Ha'ak'er database.

You hold no affiliation with the Empire or are a member of any Imperial Organisation.

You respect the rights of the Joalan people and hold no prejudice to non human species.

You allow your ships details to be registered and easily tracked.

You shall commit no crime while aboard the Ha'ak'er.

A Breach of any of these agreements will result in termination of the contract.

Mek did not want to sign this form. He had no choice, if he didn't do these things he would be stuck in the middle of nowhere. The particular agreement he didn't like was the fourth . If these Ha'ak'ers had laws similar to the Empire, it could be bad for business to have your ship registered.

But then again, the _Havoc_ was only a temporary means of travel. Mek finally decided to sign the contract, get the _Havoc_ fixed and get away from the station as quickly as possible.

Jaki offered him a writing scribe, which he took from his strange, nine fingered hand. It was a laser scribe, which scored the name on the paper. He wrote his name in basic on the dotted line, and left the pen on the table.

Jaki then pressed a button on his monitor screen. "Thank you, Mekalla", he said, "You have agreed, and by doing so, you have already registered, as have your friends, and I have just ordered a team to record the details of your ship".

"So I can now stay", asked Mek. Jaki nodded. "Yes", he said, "I shall assign Qwop Gee to show you around the city of Ha'ak'er. The two bottom levels are restricted areas, they are for workers of the station only, but otherwise you are free to travel through the city."

"Thank you", said Mek, and stood up from his chair. Jaki pressed another button on his monitor, and Ree-Calars came through the door, almost instantly afterwards.

"Yes, Master Maelon?", he asked nervously, "Calars!", said Jaki, suddenly loud, "You will bring Master Mekalla here to Qwop Gee. She should be on the observation deck. She will show them around Ha'ak'er", he said.

"Yes, Master", said the Gran nervously in his high pitched voice, his upper eyestalk twitching slightly as he spoke to the larger Alien. He gestured Mek out of the room. Mek followed him out, and the large doors closed behind him. "Hey, Ree", said Mek to the Gran. Ree-Calars turned around. "That wasn't so bad, why is he notorious?" asked Mek, confused.

The Gran explained. "The Joalans.. the Jrezbob, are a peaceful and friendly species from Missure and Grainne", he said, "Master Maelon is the oldest of them all, and has become quite mean to his staff.. did you hear him raise his voice?", asked the Gran, suddenly terrified.

_Wow, raising you voice is considered bad here?_ Thought Mek _Shakkara won't be popular then. _Shakkara, while unusually calm for a Barabel, could still be quite nasty to those he did not know.

Ree-Calars opened the second door which led to the grand room in which Mara and Shakkara were waiting. Shakkara stood up from the much too small waiting chair on which he had been sitting when Mek entered the room. "What happened?" he asked.

"I'll explain later", said Mek, "We're getting shown around". The Gran led them to the far left of the room to the circular staircase which led down to the next floor. "This way, please", he said, and began to walk down the stairs. Mek followed him, and was in turn followed by Mara and Shakkara.

It was a short staircase which only led down one floor, but when they got to the next floor, Mek saw there was an elevator for those who wished to go down further without being on a skiff.

The room was vast, taking up what would appear to be the entire floor. There were various Aliens sat on sleek metal tables which littered the room. He saw many other Gran, a few humanoids and more of the hammer-headed Ithorians. There were also some strange species which Mek did not recognise, and some which Mek figured were the same as Jaki. The Jrezbob, as Ree-Calars had said.

The entire north side of the room was a tranparisteel viewing window for the room. Jaki _had_ said it was the observation deck, after all. Ree led them threw the tables and creatures, and Mek noticed a bar in the right corner, half on the wall and half on the transparisteel.

_Great,_ he thought, _Maybe I can get a drink_. Sat on alone on a group of chairs next to the viewing area was what was undoubtedly a Jrezbob. But somehow, it looked different to Jaki.

"Master Mekalla, this is Madam Qwop Gee. She is Master Maelons niece", said Ree-Calars, introducing the Jrezbob. "Madam Gee, this is Master Mekalla Tichur, Master Shakkara and Madam Mara".

Qwop turned to the group. The difference between her and Jaki was quite large now. Her head, while still disproportionately large, was much smaller than the other Jrezbob. She large eyes were pointed slightly, and she had what seemed to be brown hair which was braided intricately. The brown hair contrasted with the pale blue skin sharply.

"Hi", said Mek, holding out his hand for a shake. Qwop did not accept the gesture, but did greet Mek in return. "Greetings, Master Mekalla", she said in an accent quite different to Jakis.

Ree-Calars cleared his throat. "I shall take my leave now, madam", he said, looking for approval from the Jrezbob. She simply nodded slightly, and the Gran turned on his heels before leaving the room.

"Please, sit", she said. Mek and Shakkara sat beside Qwop, but Mara hesitated for a moment before sitting beside Mek as if to keep as far away from the Jrezbob as possible. She looked positively terrified.

Mek, who had barely glanced through the transparisteel since he entered the room, finally looked out properly. The view was utterly amazing. In the centre was the Joalan Nebula in all it's glory. Clouds of swirling and interwining blue and red gas in a large deformed disc. It was surrounded by slowly floating asteroids, the remnants of Missure and Grainne, with the now barren and fire ridden rock Joala visible on the opposite side. Iolapip and Soldreni, the twins of ice, where on the far left, only just visible.

The whole sight was quite breathtaking to behold, and Mek commented on it to Qwop. "This is beautiful, but the Nebula is far away, does the screen magnify it or something?" he asked.

"Yes. We wished to live in the system, but the Nebula made it impossible. This is the best we can do, watch it from far away", she said.

"Is this your home now, did you once live in the Joalan system?" asked Mek.

"Yes", she said, "Grainne and Missure were out homes. We, the Jrezbob, are from Missure originally, but the original inhabitants colonised Grainne and Joala. I was born here in the station, but my family were from both Grainne and Missure. Master Maelon was born on Missure before it was destroyed over one hundred thousand years ago."

Mek suddenly realised what this place was. It was a new home for those who had lost their planet and somewhere for them to continue their existence. Continue the species.

But that didn't explain why other species other than the Jrezbob lived here.

"So why are there Gran and Humans and Ithorians here?" he asked her.

She gave what seemed like a smile. "They are lost souls who came here to live in peace. Free from the oppression of Emperor Palpatine and the Empire. Come. I am supposed to show you around".

She stood up to reveal a height much greater than Mek had thought. She was well over 2 metres, and was even taller than Shakkara. Shakkara grunted when this was made obvious. He did not like being dwarfed, especially by a female.

She led them to the opposite end of the room, and to the stairwell through which they entered. The way she went up the stairs was strange. The Jrezbob had two legs, but in getting up the stairs they did not use them. She grasped the banisters with her multi fingered and strong looking hands and pulled herself up, sliding with considerable speed with her feet dangling across the steps.

This way of travel captivated Mek and he stared at her as they all went up the stairs. "This way", she said, and walked slowly to the elevator which Mek had seen earlier. She pressed the button marked "Floor 15 – Control Centre Exit", and the elevator doors slid upon.

Inside it was surprisingly roomy. Qwop stood right at the back, while Mek and Shakkara stood on either side. Mara was almost hiding herseld from the Jrezbob behind Mek. She was staying very close to him. Mek smiled at the thought of this.

The Elevator must of being travelling at immense speed because it travelled from "Floor 29 – Observation" to "Floor 15" in a matter of seconds, but none of them felt a thing.

A quiet bleep noise emitted from an unnoticeable speaker beside the Elevator doors, which in turn slid open quietly. Mek, Mara and Shakkara waited for Jrezbob to leave the elevator before exiting themselves so she could leave the way. She slowly walked out and to the end of the corridor, which unlike the rest they had been in since their arrival, had no other doors except for the Elevator and a dark red hangar like door at the opposite end.

Qwop keyed in a code to open the door incredibly quickly, using her many digits to input as well as block out what she was entering. A low grinding noise emitted from the doors, and it began to open upwards. A bright light came from under it. After raising a foot from the ground, it suddenly opened the rest of the way much quicker. Qwop stepped out.

Outside there was a balcony overseeing an immense city, the sheer size and magnificence of which caught all of them by surprise. The buildings were tall and , some reaching the top of the incredibly space given to them. It was busy and bustling. Many Jrezbob, Humans, Gran, Ithorians, Rebons and countless other species were going about their daily business on the streets below. They were dressed in fine robes and clothes.

Many airspeeders sped around the vast buildings and out of sight, and the end of the city on this level along disappeared from sight around the bend, many miles away.

The City from the bend slanted downwards slightly to the next level.

"Welcome", said Qwop, moving her hand across the sight before them, "to Ha'ak'er City".


	6. Five: The Arrival of Mekalla

**Five: The Arrival of Mekalla**

_Glandorg Garage, Melisborn City, Ord Mantell_

The _Jewel Of Mantell_ entered through the large hangar doors and hovered on its atmospheric repulsorlifts while its landing gear extended. The disgruntled Klatooinian landing man waved it in slowly with one hand while swigging his pewter mug of Klatooinian Jus Relan Wine with the other.

The large, almost spherical, ship landed softly on the permacrete surface of the garage. Slowly, from the direct underside of the ship, a round landing ramp extended downwards vertically, acting as a lift for the passengers and crew to get out. Usually, that would be only two.

The Klatooinian, whose name was Weerbeack, grunted and turned away from the craft before knocking on a conventional working metal door beside a workbench the entire length of the hangar which was covered in tools of various uses. Through the glass panel of the door, Weerbeack could see Alayin sleeping in his office chair, legs upon the document covered desk.

He opened the door, and Alayin woke with a start. Alayin Glandorg was a human in his early sixties who ran the Glandorg Garage. His hair was grey, but it still had some traces of its former brown, much more so than his neck length beard, which had been grey for over twenty years. "Boss", said Weerbeack, "We've got some customerrrs", he said in his drawling lilt of basic.

"Yeah, Yeah, I'm coming", he said, and stood up, which took a lot of effort. He left the small office to see the gleaming silver ship, which he recognised instantly as being the _Jewel_.

The landing ramp had fully extended, and its internal pod spun around, revealing the familiar faces of Jreneth MacArp and Yuiovan. Jreneth was a half-breed between a human and a Drev. Drev were mostly human in appearance anyway, so the only sign of his Alien mother was the spikes sticking out of his back along his spine. These were easily concealed, but Jreneth was proud of his descent, and wore special clothes which showed them off. He was almost fifty, but didn't look it. Drev themselves were long living creatures, and some of this must of spread to Jreneth, who barely looked over thirty. His hair was a brownish-gold, and his face was clean shaven.

His eyes were the only sign of his age, and they looked weary right now, a gift from another long smuggling run. Beside the youthful looking smuggle was his sidekick, Yuiovan. Yuiovan was a droid, a C-4PO series protocol droid, to be precise. He had been constructed on Yuiv, a planet famous for constructing druids, and at the time of his construction, was second only to Geonosis. After working as an interpreter on Aldruck 3 for almost ten years, He was stolen by a band of raiders. They sold him to a Hutt lord on Nal Quiala, a small humid planet in Hutt Space. Jreneth had acquired him as payment for a delivery of Naala tree frogs and a consignment of glitterstim from the planet Jubri.

Although angry at this, but the Hutt Lord, Iogha, had plent of Gamorrean guards to make sure his anger wasn't shown. Over the years, Jreneth had grown to like the droid, he was useful, and opened up a whole new Alien market. Yuiovan was fitted with a Intranslate-VII language chip allowing him to converse in seven million forms of communication.

He had to get him modified slightly, however. His programming was changed to allow him to actually be useful in a fire fight, his motors were replaced with those used in battle droids to make him more manoeuvrable. His insides were tidied to allow room for smuggling smaller items which could be hidden, and on either wrist he was given retractable blasters.

Yuiovan, or as he was affectionately known, Yui, had become a liked and handy partner for Jreneth. "Jren, Yui, How's it going-", the old mechanic stopped mid-sentence. Behind the two smugglers, who had left the landing ramp and were approaching Alayin, was a young boy, eagerly following Jreneth and dragging a large suitcase.

His hair was bright blonde and short. His face had freckles dotted around his nose and his eyes were vivid green. He wore an expensive looking tunic and bottoms combo which was dirty, and had a fresh scratch across his right cheek.

"Hello, Master Glandorg", replied Yui, but Jreneth could see that Alayin had turned his attention to the boy. The boy had dropped his case and was stood beside Jreneth, his head brushing against the back of his elbow. He was looking at Alayin with a slightly frightened look on his face. Jreneth rested his palm on the boys head. "Alayin, this is Mekalla Tichur", he said.


	7. Six: Trouble in the Brenet Hashu

**Six: Trouble in the _Brenet Hashu_**

_Ha'ak'er City, Ha'ak'er Station, Near The Joala System, The Mid Rim._

"How Big's this place?", asked Mek eagerly as the open-top elevator brought the group down towards the city streets. Qwop blinked slowly, the transparent lids taking their time to slid over the large eyes.

"The actual size, I don't know", she said, "But the last census, which was taken earlier this Missure-Year, showed a current population of three and a half million sentient citizens".

"Our scans showed far less than that", said Mek, confused but still interested. "The bio-atmosphere created inside this city, created especially for Jrezbob but perfectly apt for humans and other warm blooded species, has been known to throw scanners astray. There are over 1 million Jrezbob here, with a further two million in Mel'Turk Station in a Star Cluster beyond the outer rim. The most predominant of the other species here are Gran and Ithorian, but there are over three hundred other minorities as well", she said without pausing once.

The elevator was starting to slow down, as did the whine of the repulsorlifts. The vast cities streets had started to unfold beneath them before they were finally at Ground Level, where the site was just as inspiring. "Whoa", exclaimed Mara, looking up. "What the?" said Mek. Above them now, instead of the silver coloured hull dotted with vast lights, was a blue sky littered with wavy cirrus clouds, slowly moving across and swirling.

Qwop, anticipating the young mans next question, said, "A real sky in a true atmosphere". Now the city looked even vaster. "A Ferraloned Atmosphere which is contained within the station, and showing a real blue sky. The clouds are holographic projections.. it never rains here",

Mek didn't even bother asking what the hell she was talking about, he just admired the realism and effect it had one the city. Two large glass buildings reflected the clouds and light from a Sun, most probably another holographic projection in front of the largest of the lights, onto the sand coloured crete bricks which made up the Level One plaza. Self-Sufficient vegetation grew in regular patches of bordered grass which were scattered along the vast plaza. Along the centre of the plaza was an unblemished footpath which led to the middle in a circle around a much larger grassland patch, and from there went off in either direction, as the Plaza itself was surrounded by buildings.

The streets around the plaza were upmarket and commercial, important looking office buildings in between vast and expensive looking stores for all needs, from Oulhaven Pottery to fine Alderaanian chocolates. Qwop began walking down the footpath into the centre of the Plaza while Mara and Mek were still enjoying the sights.

Shakkara too had been looking around, but was now staring straight ahead, slowly growing impatient with the awe inspired tourists. He cleared his throat. Loudly. Mek suddenly noticed that Qwop had left, but soon spotted her at the centre of the plaza, slowly moving around the large circular path. "C'mon", he said to Mara and Shakkara. Shakkara nodded, but Mara needed a little tug to follow. "Oww!" she said dramatically, walking on the cobble-stone plaza in her bare feet. "Walk on the path", advised Mek.

They had soon caught up with Qwop, although Mara had fallen behind once more to admire a strange blue plant beside a large brown tree in the central grass. It was bulbous and blue, with flaps lined together at the top, and many large green leaves sprouting around it. She carefully touched one of the hairy leaves, and to her surprise, the plant moved. The flaps pulled away to reveal a gaping maw like mouth of sorts, lined with many rows of sharp white teeth and with a blue, sticky tongue in the centre.

Mara let out a whimper and backed away, but as Mek came to see what the commotion was, it turned out she had tickled the plant and it simply licked her hand slightly before closing up once more.

"Eh.. maybe it would be better not to touch .. anything", said Mek worriedly and towed her along to catch up with Qwop and Shakkara. They were actually in conversation. "You know there are other Barabel here", she said to Shakkara. His face showed no expression except for a light contraction of the skin above his right eye. "Really?" he said.

The Jrezbob nodded. "If my memory served me correctly, there are over a hundred, most of them living in Level 14", she said. Shakkara showed no signs of caring, but Mek knew any contact with fellow Barabels was something he would like to do on this trip. He made a mental note to visit Level 14.

At the end of the Plaza there was a large building which was made from permacrete and transparisteel, with a large spire monument at the top. From head on, whatever was behind it could not be seen by the group, but the streets at either side of the Plaza seemed to stop behind it.

The central pathway led around the building, the trip around which was silent, until what was behind it was seen. The two streets turned here into one large street which went so long that it started to slant downwards and out of site along the incline. The Buildings here were large, but all terraced, and on street level, most of them were shops.

The business was a sharp comparison to the Plaza as well. Whereas the Plaza and its surrounding streets were desolate, the emptiness only broken by their little group and an Ithorian gardener who had been clipping the leaves on a plant similar to the one Mara had touched, this street was immensely packed by aliens of all sorts and sizes. The road itself was permacrete, and had traffic on many different levels. Landspeeders were travelling in both directions on opposite sides of the road, Mek had even spotted some speeders which used wheels rather than repulsor lifts. The boundary between directions was a metal bar which jutted upwards, almost like a track for a tram or commutube. This suspicion was confirmed as Mek saw one of the train-like vehicles travelling on the track in the far distance, stopping ever kilometre or so to collect more passengers.

But above the road, at least four levels of airspeeder traffic were speeding by in perfect unison, broken only by a few turning around a corner or completely leaving designated airlanes to enter an apartment hangar.

The pavement sidewalks at either side of the road were packed, and as they travelled around a hundred yards or so down the street, Mek noticed that the Pedestrian angle of the street was one two layers as well. Every 200m there was an escalator and repulsorlift to take people to the next level, were even more cubicles and shops were.

As they approached the first of these, Mara asked Mek if they could go up. Mek said that she hadn't even seen hardly any of this street yet, but gave in and asked Qwop.

"Of course", she said slowly. Qwop took the repulsorlift while Shakkara, Mek and Mara travelled up the escalator. There was a metal grid for them to walk along. Mara was stood on beside the short metal fence looking below. The shops up here were much the same as below, although it was slightly less congested with pedestrians. They passed many of them, Qwop did not allow them to enter until she had finished showing them around. Level One was nearly all shops and expensive residences, an upperclass side of the city. The shops were as diverse as the inhabitants themselves, with many catering especially for certain species needs. They even passed a shop which specialised in Kinyens finest eyestalk moisturiser store!

Mek highly doubted anything which he would be interested in was situated in Level One, but he did make a few more mental notes for places for visiting. The list now consisted of: Level 14 for Shakkara, Treayias Off-License and Gizmo Gilzards Gadgets. Mek was an avid fan of all things gadgety, his _Digital Radius and Assistant _ being proof of that.

They went back to ground level at the next exit, and continued the journey down the street. The road started to slope, and Mek was finally noticing some large exits to other streets. There had been a few smaller ones before, but these new ones seemed nearly as large as the Main Street itself.

Eventually, the Main Street started branching out a lot more, and larger buildings became more commonplace, or at the very least, more visible. For the first time, they had to cross the road. It was at a four-way intersection and there was a traffic island in the middle of the road.

A safe crossing system existed, a simple traffic-light system. When somebody pushed the button on the device, the traffic lights would change red when it thinned out slightly.

Qwop pressed the button, and it took over two minutes to turn red, but a complete safe path was set up from this, right cross the other side of the island. "Where are we headed, anyways?" asked Mek. Qwop continued to walk without replying for a moment, and then finally responded. "The Halaven. It is one of the largest hotels in Ha'ak'er. Your stay there will be free, but any meals or extras you will have to pay for", she said, "We shall dine and I shall answer your questions about Ha'ak'er", she said.

They continued up the sidewalk along the now extremely vast road. This seemed like the "city centre" of Level One. As they continued the journey, Mek saw what he was pretty sure was The Halaven. It was a huge white stone building at a crossroads.

It had a large entrance with large stone pillars, and above them was a sign written in an alien language, most probably Jrezbob. They did, in fact, go to that building.

Qwop walked up the steps the conventional way, rather than the strange way she had done so up the staircase, and opened the large glass doors for the rest of the group.

The large foyer was impressive, and Mara obviously hadn't had enough gasping at new sights. A large staircase took up the opposite end of the room, and there were two reception desks at either side of it.

"Mistress Gee!" exclaimed a much younger looking an smaller looking Jrezbob from behind the desk.

The two Jrezbob spent the next minute conversing in their native tongue before Qwop turned to them. "This Gran will show you to your rooms", she said.

Behind her was a Gran, slightly taller than Ree-Calars but with a squeakier voice. "Greetings, I am Nal Oc", he said. The kinyen led them up the grand staircase where a series of elevators waited. He pressed a series of button beside one of them, and it opened up.

An Elevator trip later, they were on the twenty – ninth floor. He led them down to a series of halls to a door marked "29-112 Suite". Inside there was a reasonable sized living area with two sofas and a holovid, a kitchen unit and three bedrooms.

"Mistress Gee says that she will meet you here in six standard hours time, until then you are free to roam Level One, however, she asks you not to leave Level One until she has talked to you once more", said Nal Oc, "If you need anything, please use the intercom devices located beside the Holovid and beside the beds in each of the bedrooms.

The Gran stood straight for a moment before bowing and then leaving the room. "It is a nice place", said Shakkara. Shakkara had grown up in caves, so this kind of thing he appreciated.

He slowly walked over to the sofa and sat down. He took the LDSB and Backpack off his back and left them beside the sofa. He then leant back and closed his eyes.

"Can I go and check out my room?" she asked, "Sure you can", said Mek. She ran off hurriedly to her bedroom, but stopped at the door, not knowing how to open it.

Mek went to assist her. He stood behind her and put his arm under hers, which was leant against the wall as she was trying to figure out what to do. He pressed the button and the door slid up.

She turned her face to his, he could feel her warm breath on his face. She looked into his eyes. "Thanks", she said, and ran off into the room, jumping on her bed.

Mek followed her in, "You've opened up a lot, heh", he said. "I guess it's being around people who care and don't..." she trailed off and remained silent.

Mek exited the room and sat on the sofa opposite Shakkara.

"I told you not to get close", he said, his eyes still closed. "I know.." said Mek.

He too leant back and closed his eyes, but quickly shook the tiredness away.

"I wonder if the kitchen is stocked.." he murmured and stood up from the sofa before going to the Kitchen area. He was looking for coffee beans, and found some. Fresh Oison beans. He grinded them up and put a spoonful into a cup with some sugar and hot water. He took a sip. "Ahhh.. that's better", he exclaimed. As he was cleaning up, he started an idle conversation with Shakkara.

"So, I was thinking", he began while washing the bean grinder, "we could go back to that street and check out some of the shops. Maybe Mara could get some new clothes.."

"Mekalla..." warned Shakkara. "I know, I know", he said, "But she ain't go no shoes!"

Shakkara gave up trying to argue, but did enquire about visiting the sector in which there was a Barabel population. "Sure we can, but not until after Qwop comes back. I think we should respect her wishes", replied Mek. Shakkara nodded.

"6 hours, though.. it'll be pretty late. It will probably be tomorrow, Shak. We'll try to get our repairs done tomorrow as well".

Mek finished clearing the mess he made and sat beside Shakkara with his coffee. He hadn't made Shakkara one, he wasn't a fan of the stuff. He watched a show about the pre-event hype for the Umgul Fondine Blob Race taking place next week on the Holovid until he had finished his coffee. Shakkara was asleep and snoring loudly.

He quietly stood up and walked over to Maras door. She hadn't locked it, so he walked inside. She was asleep on her bed, muttering. He was going to wake her up, but stopped to listen to what she was saying in her sleep. All he could make out of Baran and Coleshaw. He lightly patted her on the shoulder. She awoke and screamed. Loudly. It was a shriek which nearly pierced Meks eardrums, she closed her eyes and crawled to the end of the bed, curling up.

"Mara, Mara, it's me", he said. She was whimpering, and her eyes were full of tears. "No..", she said softly, and turned away from him. He crawled across the bed and took her in his arms. She leant her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Mek", she said.

"It's alright. You were just having a nightmare or something.. I shouldn't of woke you up", he said. She started to cry softly, and stayed in her arms for what seemed like an eternity.

"What happened to you?", he asked her, her face still buried in his shoulder.

"It doesn't matter", she said, and pulled away, "What did you want?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to get some clothes or something? So new shoes, maybe, you can't go walking around in barefoot", he said.

"Really?" she asked. Mek nodded. "Okay", she said, and wiped the tears from her eyes. She took Meks hand as he walked out of the room. Mek could not help but smile at this, and squeezed it back.

Shakkara was still asleep on the sofa, despite Maras screams. The left the room and went down the same elevator they had come up in, walked down the large staircase and out of the hotel.

Mek decided to go back to the part that they knew, rather than getting lost in some other part of the city. He chose the first shop which had a sign in basic that he could find.

_Lena Cuzeries Fashions_ turned out to be a large, new designs shop owned by a hip young woman called Lena Cuzerie who looked to all her customers personally.

She cried in shock at Mara when she came in. Mara had a bewildered look on her face.

"Oh my god! We just have to get you out of that.. thing", she said, and whisked Mara off to a dressing room straight away. "Wait!" she cried, grabbing onto Mek for her life, but the human woman and her Bothan assistant pulled her away,

Mek laughed, and sat on a chair, watching them drag her away, picking random clothing items of racks as they went before disappearing into a dressing room.

A few minutes later, the Bothan assistant, whose name turned out to be Hika, came out and started talking rapidly to Mek. "I nearly had a heart attack when young Mara came in. FASHION DISASTER! Yikes, but we've got her some great new clothes and she looks to die for.. Lena is doing her hair and makeup now, free with five or more items, so how will you be paying?"

"Err.." began Mek, but the camp Bothan began again, "We accept Desam Debit and Credit Cards, Credits, Ha'ak'er Sholtens and Mulhern cheques".

"Credits.. cash", said Mek, jingling the coins in his pocket.

Another ten minutes passed before Mara finally emerged. Meks jaw literally dropped. She was wearing an orange suit which clung in all the right places with a white tunic underneath, and had some light makeup on her face. Her hair straight put curled upwards at the end, and seemed to have red highlights in it. She smiled and it set it all off. She was stunning.

Mek couldn't believe it. "What do you think?" she asked, chewing her bottom lip uncomfortably. "You look stunning", he said. Mara beamed at him. Hika appeared from no where, his face covered by bags, and put them all in Meks hands. Mek was so transfixed on Mara that he emptied his pockets in the Bothans hands, not caring how much it was.

Mara was considerably more upbeat as they left the store. Mek was carrying eleven bags, and took up half the sidewalk. After they had gotten to a street corner restaurant, Mek said "How about we go in here for a bite to eat? You must be hungry

And I'm tired from all these bags". "Okay", she said, "I'm starving".

The restaurant was called _Brenet Hashu_, and it took a long time to get in with all the bags. The _Brenet Hashu_ turned out to be a dimly lit, old fashioned restaurant and bar which served exotic Brenet foods as well as traditional popular Coruscant style foods.

They chose a secluded two seater in the corner of the room. Mek took the menu first and chose a Beral Steak with Fried Lamcash slices. Mara didn't seem to know what any of the things on the menu were, so she chose the same.

"So what clothes did you get?" asked Mek. She smiled, and began fumbling through the bags, but stopped, deeming it wise to start taking things out in the middle of the restaurant. "I don't know.. lots anyway, and some shoes for my feet. They had cuts on them so Miss Cuzeries put the same stuff on them as you did when I burnt my hand".

"Your feet were cut? You should of told me, I had some Bacta in Shakkaras backpack", replied Mek, concerned. "I didn't know myself", she assured him.

A large, four armed Helva from the planet Swaiop came over to take their order. "We'll both have the Beral Steak with Fried Lamcash", said Mek. The large, hairy alien scrawled something on his notepad and said, "Drinks?".

"I'll have an Alderaanian Ale and Mara will have.." he looked over her.

She looked worried and shrugged. "... a Nelhan Spritzer".

"Sorry", she said again. Mek shook his head, "Don't worry about it, you'd just better like a Nelhan Spritzer!"

Mek made conversation while they waited for the food. "So... where are you from?" he asked. To his surprise, Mara answered, perhaps a sign she was growing to trust him, "I was born on Harvilè", she said. Shaking off the initial shock at actually being told, Mek replied, "I've heard of that planet", he said. Harvilè was a secluded outer rim planet whose peoples rarely left. That would explain why Mara didn't know much about the ways of the Galaxy.

He decided not to push his look and could tell that Mara appreciated that. Their food arrived, much quicker than expected, so they ate. Mara said that she had never tasted such good food.

Their plates empty and stomachs full, Mek got up from his chair with a groan and went to pay the Kahalazaa behind the counter. As he was returning to the table, a large Ser'Kurz walked straight into him, knocking him to the floor. "What the hell did you do that for?" he shouted.

The Ser'Kurz walked passed, ignoring the fallen man. "The word is Sorry.. geez", said Mek as he stood up, dusting himself off. This, however, did make the Ser'Kurz turn around, and Mek almost wished he hadn't said anything.

The Shelonian incident sprang to mind, and Mek realised he should get out of there fast. Ser'Kurz may not be quite as formidable as Shelonians, and there was only one of them, but there was no Shakkara to help him now.

He hurriedly walked towards his table, hand on blaster, "Are you alright", asked Mara. Mek simply said "C'mon". He bent over to pick up some of the bags, but immediately felt two strong, large hands under his arms. Suddenly, he found himself flying through the air. The journey seemed to happen in slow motion. He closed his eyes as the table slowly got bigger.

He did not remember the impact, it had knocked him out for a few seconds. The feeling of splintered wood in his arm woke him up suddenly only to find that the Ser'Kurz was quickly approaching him once more.

He fumbled at his holster, trying to get his blaster free, but it was no use, the barrel was lodged on one of the buckles surrounding it. He quickly reached for his ankle holster, but the Ser'Kurz had already reached him. He found himself being hoisted in the air once more, but this time by one, hairy, arm. The other was clenched in a fist, and like the table, was slowly getting bigger. It connected with his jaw. The pain was unbearable. His teeth clenched together and he felt one of his teeth crack.

The punch had thrown him from the Ser'Kurz grip. He landed on the cold floor hard, and he lost consciousness, just as he saw a large figure grabbing the Ser'Kurz from behind.

The world slowly faded away.


	8. Seven: The Training of Mekalla

**Seven: The Training of Mekalla**

_The Jewel Of Mantell, orbiting Ord Mantell, The Core Worlds_

"Right, so this one..." began an eager 10 year old Mek, pointing at a flashing visual dial below the control wheel, "... is the current sublight speed?"

Jreneth nodded.

"And this one is the virtual horizon, but that is mainly for atmospheric use, Space don't really have a horizon", said Jreneth. The young boy nodded, absorbing every word the man had to say.

"Wanna take the wheel?" asked Jreneth. The boy nodded furiously. "Really?" he asked. "Sure", replied Jreneth, "Just be careful. I'll take the secondary stick just in case, okay".

He stood up from the worn out old chair and let the young boy take the wheel. Unlike many ships, the _Bolt "Eveiol Class" freighter_, was fitted with a wheel method of flight. It wasn't suitable for extreme manoeuvres, but the wheel was suited for every day flight. Jreneth preferred using the wheel were possible, it reminded him of speeder racing back on Ohi.

Jreneth sat on the co-pilot chair (as Yui was in the lounge, recharging), and pressed the access code to let the single control stick come out of the dash.

He didn't think he'd have to use it. He was only going to let the boy travel for a few minutes, and there were no obstacles.

Mek knew all the basics, from applying thrust, braking and performing basic rise or lower movements.

Although the method was a wheel, it could still control height. Pulling it out would gain height and pushing forward would lose it, but turning and pushing at the same time could spin.

Mek, however, did something highly unexpected, and made someone as experienced and calm as Jreneth panic. He sent the freighter hurling down at full speed. Jreneth almost let out a little scream and slowly watched the speed rise. 20 MGLT, 30 MGLT, 40 MGLT, 50 MGLT, 60 MGLT, 70 MGLT, 80 MGLT.

As the dial approached 90, Jreneth got worried. He thought the engine might overheat, possibly causing fires in the engine bay.

"Whoa, slow down", said Jreneth. He had just reached for the control stick when the craft slowly came to a halt. Mek had executed the order with incredible precision and ease. He looked eagerly at his mentor, his hands on the wheel.

"Okay... a little _too_ fast", said Jreneth, who had now put his head in his hands against the dash panel.

"Sorry, Jreneth", said Mek. "What the hell were you doing?" came a new voice. It was the deep mechanical tone of Yui. "Sorry, Y", said Mek.

"Okay... start her up again", said Jreneth.

Mek pressed the large button near the wheel, and the craft slowly started to move forward. He then applied the throttle, and the craft hurtled away at a reasonable twenty.

"That's it, nice and easy", said Jreneth. Mek was now at fifty. "Slow down a little", said Jreneth.

"What's the point in being in a spaceship if you can't go fast?" asked Mek in a typical angry 10 year old mood. Jreneth laughed.

"Fair point, lad", he said to the boy.

"You should not encourage him", said Yui sternly, some of the old protocol manner retained in his voice which was usually louder and more slang-filled nowadays.

"You'll make a fair pilot, one day", said Jreneth.

Mek smiled.

"And I'd make a decent set of cutlery", muttered the druid. "You would", said Jreneth, "And that's what you'll end up as if you don't shut it".

Yui gave the droid equivalent of a gulp and left the cockpit clumsily.

"Where will I go", asked Mek, his focus firmly on the space outside. "I think that's enough for today", replied Jreneth.

"Aw..." protested Mek. He put on a frown and stared at Jreneth. Jreneth returned a stern look, and Mek put his head down. "You'd also make a fair pantomime actor, get out of it!"

The boy jumped down off the chair so that Jreneth himself could resume control of the wheel. They continued to fly for a further half hour as Jreneth showed Mek the ways and workings of the craft. He planned to show him how to work more conventional methods such as control sticks rather than an old-fashioned wheel, but today it was enough, and they had to continue the journey.

"I'm going into hyperspace, you know, I let you initiate the sequence on the last run", said Jreneth and the boy nodded. "Wanna do it again?"

Mek jumped towards the console.

"What route?" he asked Jreneth.

"Er... what was it again? Route 119AA, it's the Muslinianiano Smugglers Route", replied Jreneth. The boy keyed in some information into the console, but shrugged. "I can't find it!", he said.

Jreneth walked over. "You've got in on default legal routes, this is an officially unknown free route. You need the overdrive code.. here, let me put it in".

Jreneth pressed a button under an access panel, which made a box come up on screen.

On the standard keyboard, he entered four numbers,

"Enter Route Code", flashed the words upon screen. "Go on", said Jreneth.

Mek put in 119AA. The screen then showed. "Route Found, Database 12, Muslinianiano Way".

"Yay!", said Mek. Jreneth laughed at the youth and naivety of the boy, even though he knew it was an act. Mek was surprisingly intelligent when not with Jreneth, Yui seemed to think that Mek was thinking of Jreneth when acting so childish. He believed that Jreneth enjoyed being a father figure.

Which, admittedly, he did. "Go off into the lounge, now", said Mek as he pressed the final ignition key. Space became Hyperspace, and they were on their way on another trip; this time to bring musical instruments stashed with spice to Muslinian. Glitterstim, mainly, but also some Rhyll and Catschu. Non life-threatening drugs.

Mek ran off into the lounge, probably to play another game on the Holoboard against Yui. Yui _always_ won, but Mek was determined to beat him. He was full of determination.


	9. Eight: Pains and Memories

**Eight: ** Pains and Memories

_Level One Spheal Hospital, Ha'ak'er City, Ha'ak'er Station_

Mek awoke to the cold, steel-grey of a hospital ceiling covered in strange bright lights.

It gave him a head-ache almost instantly, but that may of been from the bump on his

head. He touched his forehead gingerly. It was bandaged around what had been a nasty

cut.

He looked around the room. He was led in a white covered bed with steel bars

coming up a few inches on either side to prevent him falling out. His maroon shirt lay hanging

by a bedside cabinet on which his blaster lay facing the wall. His ankle blaster was still in its

holster.

He was not in a private ward as he had initially thought. He was in a six-bed ward

which he shared with four other people. The bed nearest the only exit was empty. Sat in

the bed opposite was a small sullistan with a nasty looking cut above his right eye. He was

sleeping.

In the other beds were a dark green Ryloffi from Rylo 9. They were an aquatic species

with two large fins coming from their shoulders. One of the Ryloffi's fins was in a cast which

was being supported by a strange device hanging over his bed. He was awake, unlike the

sullustan, but did not notice Mek waking.

The only other person he could see (although he knew one of the other beds was

occupied because of a large protuding foot hanging out of the curtains) was a stout humanoid

who had both arms in casts and whose head was cut in several places.

Suddenly the Ryloffi spoke, and it shocked Mek to the point that he jumped, hurting his

head even more. "A-haaaa, you have awoken, young master", it said in a bubble filled showing

of speech.

"Yes", said Mek. He didn't really know what else to say, and didn't feel like talking.

"Yessss, you came in while I was having this itchy thing put on, no?" said the Ryloffi, referring

to his large, uncomfortable looking cast.

"I guess so, I don't remember, I was unconscious when I came in", said Mek with a

sigh. "Yessssssssburbburbburbrr, you looked painfilled, yes..." said the Ryloffi to himself.

"I am Jeaa".

"Hi, Jeaa, I am Mek", said Mek, still staring up at the ceiling. "Did anyone come in with

me?".

"Yessssssburb, a lady with hair of fire and coal, and a lizard-man with sharp teeth

which he showed to me as he come through the door. He was angry", replied Jeaa.

"Were did they go?" asked Mek hopefully.

"The young lady is sitting beside you! burbburb, haha", said Jea with a gurgled laugh.

"Wha-?" said Mek shocked and looked to his right. Sure enough, Mara was fast asleep on

a wooden and upholstered chair underneath the window cill and blocked from his view by

his hanging shirt and bedside cabinet.

She was tired looking, but still beautiful, her red and brown hair hanging over her right

eye as she leant her head on the side of the chair. She was still wearing the orange suit,

but it was crumpled and smudged in places, and her mascara showed signs of dripping.

He contemplated waking her up, but decided against it. She looked so serene and

peaceful that any disturbance seemed like a crime. He just stared at her for a few minutes

and leant back onto his pillow.

"Ssssshe is mate, no?" said Jeaa. "No", said Mek quickly.

"I think she is, Yesssssshburb".

Mek ignored the large but friendly Ryloffi. Mara was still asleep, making no sound

but the light sound of her breathing. He wondered where Shakkara was and struggled

to keep in his mind the traces of his dream. It had been a happy one. He had been

learning to fly.

Near the edge of Level One, in a dark secluded building which was ignored by most

passing pedestrians, sat Shakkara. The room was empty except for him, a stool

and a small camera facing him, and was shrouded in shadow. It was nearly pitch

black except for the blue luminous glow of the light underneath the camera. Shakkara

did not mind, and he could see everything, his ultra attuned infra-red eyes being able

to make out the location of all four walls and the exit door, but he abided by these

creatures silly rules.

A voice came from a speaker located somewhere on the camera. "Faral Yusian?

Mulchonian marylin Ser'Kurz?" it said rapidly. Shakkara did not even try to understand,

although he had known what it was about. He simply snarled before finally replying

"If you wish to speak to me, do so in Basic or Barabel".

"Assdaw getee hoo-man fu yoo", said the voice once more, before a mechanical

click ended the transmission. Shakkara waited several minutes before the click occured

again, followed by a voice. It was human, and speaking in accented by understandable

basic.

"Hello", said the voice. Shakkara said nothing. He was getting frustrated. "Hello!"

shouted the voice. "What?" said Shakkara. "Faral... You killed Ser'Kurz in Brenet", it

said. "So?", answered Barabel. "You killed Ha'ak'er sentient, you will trial", said the voice.

"Fine."

The mechanical click sounded from the camera once more. Shakkara was getting

highly annoyed.

In a contrasting bright white room, directly above the witness hold, two Jrezbob were

conversing in Jrez rapidly about the troublesome Barabel.

Should he be referred to Special Police? said the larger, older Jrezbob, Harakel. They

had been assigned to dealing with the Barabel, but sincerely wished they hadn't.

No. He has killed a predominant member of the Ser'Kurz Alliance. He will most likely

be killed after the trial here, so leave it at that. The Special Police are too much hassle

said the smaller younger Jrezbob, Awzi.

But if we execute him after the trial, the Barabel Politcal Party will not be

pleased. I've also heard this Barabel is a guest of Maelon himself! said Harakel.

Do you believe everything you hear? asked Awzi with a smile.

No... but still said Harakel, Have our Basic Interpreter Jolhan to ask him questions,

the trial will be tomorrow regardless

Shakkara was on the verge of ripping the camera off its stand by the time the voice

spoke out again. It was blunt and not wasting any time. "What is your name?", it said.

Barabel pondered what to tell it for a moment, but decided as he was registered in his

real name, to show it here. "Shakkara Shenwan".

"Okay, Shakkara. I will ask you about the incidents in the Brenet Hashu", said

the voice. Shakkara said nothing, and waited impatiently for the speaker to resume.

"How exactly did the incident start?"

Shakkara had been following Mek since he had realised he had gone upon waking and

after rushing out of the hotel, had seen him exiting the clothes shop. He had remained

across the street, and made sure that Mek did not see him. Shakkara had stayed outside

while Mek and Mara had entered the Brenet Hashu, but was constantly checking on them

through the blurry window.

He had been following for two reasons: 1. He wanted to protect Mek and 2. He

did not want anything to happen between them. It was not advisable. When the trouble

had started, Shakkara rushed in. Mek had seen him before falling unconcious.

After the Ser'Kurz had thrown Mek for the final time, (which Shakkara had been unable

to prevent) Shakkara had grabbed the Ser'Kurz from behind and immediately sank his

teeth into him.

The Ser'Kurz had moaned with pain, but had managed to struggle out of the

stronger Barabels grip. Knowing that the Barabel was superior in strength, speed,

height and reach, the Ser'Kurz had one choice; a weapon. He had lifted up one of

the metal stools from the bar eating area and swung it viciously at Shakkara. He dodged

the first two swings, but a quick surprise thrust had hit him squarely in the jaw.

Dazed but not hurt, Shakkara leapt upon his attacker, pinning him to the wooden

floor. His claws were digging into the Ser'Kurz wrists and he then went in for the kill,

opening his jaws to their fullest reach and clamping his razor sharp teeth on the aliens

neck.

The Ser'Kurz moaned with pain, but once again managed to free himself.

The wound was bad. A dark pool of blood had formed on the floor and much more was

trickling through the Ser'Kurz hands which were clamped around his own neck.

He crashed into a few chairs and tables before falling to the ground. The high pitched

screech nearly caused the windows to break, but unbelievably the Ser'Kurz got back up and

lunged at Shakkara.

The momentum of his dive which had caught Shakkara in the chest made both

of the go flying into a table, which became the fourth to be wrecked. Shakkara had his arms

under the Ser'Kurz shoulder trying to prise him off, but the Ser'Kurz punched Shakkara three

times in the face.

Shakkara had had enough, and was not willing to let the battle be stopped when the

law arrived (a Jrezbob and a Gran). He finally prised the flailing creature off him and lifted him

up high into the hair. The barabel let out a battle cry into the Ser'Kurz face and threw him as hard

as he could to the other side of the room.

As the sixth table smashed, Shakkara jumped too, landing on the Ser'Kurz. He furiously

pummeled the Ser'Kurz with his claws, and took great bites out of his neck and arms.

When Shakkara had finished, the Ser'Kurz was unrecognisable.

While the police were examining the Ser'Kurz, Shakkara crept out. He had taken

Mek's unconscious body up in one hand, and had taken Maras hand (she had been hiding under

a table, which was probably more dangerous than being in the fight itself), in the other.

He had asked a bewildered pedestrian were the nearest hospital was and headed towards

it. Mara was crying softly as he almost dragged her through the busy streets. He soon noticed

the two police men following him from a distance, as if waiting for him to leave Mek at the

hospital first.

Not long after Mek had been treated and had been brought into a ward, the two policemen

had taken him away. He had killed the Ser'Kurz.

Shakkara told the story to the camera, which made him feel quite stupid, but assured he

had fought in protection of his friend and ultimately in defence. But he started to realise that

he was in pretty big Bantha Fodder, and may need to get out on his own.

He checked that door once more...

"Yessshburb, definitely mate", Jeaa was mumbling to himself. Mek stirred in his rest. He was

not asleep, but in deep thought. He was reflecting and remembering, the two dreams of

childhood stirring something within him which he couldn't explain. A feeling of better times,

when there was no responsibility and the universe was his oyster. It seemed so long ago now,

and the grizzled Transporter was now nearing 30.

He turned around on the bed just as Mara was waking, most probably from the Ryloffis

constant mumbling. She awoke to Meks friendly but injured face smiling at her from the bed.

"Oh Mek..." she said through tears. She stood up and put her arms around him. "Aahh", Mek

protested.

"Oh! Sorry", she said, pulling away slightly. "What happened?" asked Mek. She sighed,

a few tears still dribbling from her eyes. She was constantly crying. "Shakkara saved you...

he brought you here, but two men took him away. He killed the alien."

"Damnit!" said Mek aloud. Shakkara had always been unruly, and both of them

had killed before, but they were on a civilised station which had rules about these kind of things.

Shakkara was in trouble, and he knew it.

"Tell me what happened", said Mek as Mara sat on his bedside.


End file.
